rangerman

Anyone know what the crappie are doing on the Niangua arm. I am planning to run dow there tomorrow but may change my mind if things aren't going good.

Don't get down DH2, one of these times, you'll go up there and tear the fish up. When the fish are biting up there, they are really biting. When good times are rolling, it isn't uncommon to catch limits of whites, crappie and catfish. Trust me its been done. You have to think of what time of year it is. It is still really early yet for tailrace fishing. For the fish below that dam to get good and active you should have at least around 50 to 55 degree water temps. When the waters cold its hard fishing just plain and simple.

You really have to hunt the walleye in TR. It seems as though you have to weed through alot of incidental catches before you get an established pattern. I asked powerdive about it, and I'v heard the walleye spawn on the front of the TR dam. It should be a good spot to catch suspended walleyes. Have anyone else heard of this?

road runner--sometimes referred to as a pony jig

I don't know what to tell you for boat rentals. Judging by your username I am figuring you are from Rainy Lake. Isn't that about the mecca of walleye fishing? Table Rock walleyes I figure number for and few in between that of Rainy Lake. ALOT more hunting is needed to locate them here. On the lower end of the lake your best bet is to fish inside channel bends with gravel. Right now, its really hard telling what the walleyes are doing as some may be spawning and some aren't. Watch and fish the rip rap around the dam area. Get off of the banks and look for suspended fish on your fish finder in front of the dam. If the walleye are spawning there, you should be able to troll a few up. Good Luck.

Went to the Niangua arm today, water temp was around 53 degrees. I figured the crappie would start moving up to the banks. A few keepers were caught along with some white bass. They seemed to be holding about 5 foot deep around the docks. Pretty scattered. The ones caught were decent fish and were found to be males. A couple of weeks and they should get going good.

I just talked to my father today who is fishing the Kings, and had caught a number of big sow white bass. Naturally I was at LOZ trying to get on the crappie there. Any way he was going down a pretty good ways below Hickory Hollow, when he saw a great big fish floating. Naturally being curious to see what it was, he pulled up next to it and it was a HUGE black bass. He has got an 11 pounder on the wall he caught at Lake Fork and he said it dwarfed it. He figured it in the 12 to 14 pound range. Let me tell you this, this man does not come up with tall tales and he despises people who do. He can back anything up he says. But anyways, he had it floating right next to the boat and had the big motor running, he had to dig out his net, to net it. He said he had to make a pass to get close to it again and he saw it start flairing its gills and when he was pulling up to net it, the fish dove. He said he sat in the area waiting for it to float back up but it never did. He said the way it looked as if it was flairing its gills to dislodge something from its throat. SOOOOOOOO, Keep your eyes OPEN , Jason

Trolling for crappie is alot of fun. I do troll for them on Table Rock in the spring and summer. I find that using this technique most of the fish you will catch will be larger in 11 and 15 inches. I troll the channel swings against bluffs and usually there are trees present. Trolling the right crankbait at the right speed and using a good braid, you will find that the crankbaits 95% of the time will pull right through the tree tops without snagging. When your crank contacts the tree you will usually get a strike. I would think you could employ the same technique on Bull Shoals with little problem.

At least everyone is catching small whites, they must have had a good spawn last year. It has been awhile since we've seen that many small ones which will make it really good for the years to come.

Could have been asians or gar. However, if it was a fairly deep hole it is possible it may have been catfish as well. Just makes you wonder just whats in that river.

I wouldn't expect them to run a whole lot of water anytime soon. They have the lake so drawed down, I can't see them dropping it much more. It id about 6 feet low the way it is. The technique I spoke of, jigging spoons, works. The thing with it is it takes ALOT of concentration. You have to keep in touch with the bottom and it takes time to distinguish the difference between a subtle fish hit and a rock. Once you learn it you'll do fine. I have gotten some big hybrids up there. I have a stringer mount with 4 I caught up there with the largest being 14 3/4 and the smallest 13 pounds. It was a pretty good day. I also had a limit of blues. As the water warms, you'll find the blues scattering. They will move up closer to the dam and start feeding on killed shad that comes through the dam. I forgot to mention another technique I have used up there when I got bored with what I was doing. Take a large pyramid sinker, size depends on current, and tie it on 3 way swivel (10inch dropper) and place about a 10 inch leader on it. Catch some shad and thread a full size shad on the hook (4 to 6 inchers). Using your trolling motor, slowly drift downstream keeping the rig as vertical as possible. You will catch just about everything on this rig.

Also look in the phone book and find the number for dam information, I can't find mine offhand, however, they will give you discharge information and predicted information. When the water is slow the fishing generally slows, however, the jiggin spoon technique is never slow, as you are going to the fish and not waiting for the fish to come to you.

Bagnell dam is a great place to catch catfish and some big ones. If you apply tactics which you use on the missouri you should do alright. There are some facts about fishing this time of year up there you should know. In winter and early spring such as now, alot of the blue cats school up. The last time I was there about 2 weeks ago while walleye fishing, I found the school about 200-250 below the boat ramp. Run down river and look for holes on your electronics. It was late in the day and did not really feel like messing with them to much. I was able to get one about 6 pounds and another 15 pounds. Use small baits such as small cut shad. The water is cold up there and remains that way for awhile. It was 38 degrees when I was there and the fish are slow minded. I was able to use a jigging spoon which I have done in the past and caught the 2 I was talking about, I did loose one that I figured would go 20 or so. While looking for the fish on the graph, you would not be able to miss them. The pod of fish I found covered an area of approximately 5 foot deep and 5o yards long. ALOT of fish. This is no joke. I was getting false bottom readings do to their numbers. As far as drift fishing, use a heavy enough weight to stay as vertical as possible while drifting. Try not to drag the baits down stream as this is going to cause you to lose alot of tackle. These tactics work clear into the spring. Also think out of the box, Try using jigging spoons and heavy bladebaits. By doing this and fishing vertically over them, you can keep the bait jigging right in front of their face and even with the cold water you will likely get a reaction strike. I have used this tactic in numerous places. While employing this technique use your bass tackle with a fireline or braid. The resistance is less and the strikes are more evident. Plus when you do hook up, the fight is pretty good even in the cold water. Good luck

Bill, St Croix is a great rod company, you will be very happy with purchasing one. Although it is all personal prefence on how the rod feels, I believe the seven footer medium/fast would suit you better. I recently started switching over to seven foot rods for purpose of longer casts and I believe I can feel strikes a little easier. With a seven foot rod you can cast light baits very easily and a long way. THe medium/fast also allows you to cast/fish a wide assortment of baits without any problem. I am speaking of some lighter cranks and topwaters, etc. Good luck.

i wouldn't do it, This tiime of year maybe, but by the time summer starts rolling around, there gets to be some 3 foot waves out there some larger, not to mention the people that are operating boats--that have no business operating them. If you have been on the lake you know what I'm talking about.

Like powerdive said Table Rock is up and coming, however, I guarentee there is a new state record swimming in there and the person who catches it will more than likely be fishing for something else. ALWAYS happens that way! There is at least a couple of 14 pounders caught on the arkansas side of the Kings River every year by guys night fishing. Illegal in Missouri of course. Lake of the Ozarks is about thhe only lake that people consistently catch walleye while fishing for bass. There definitely has been alot of 5plus pounders caught there by guys throwing spinnerbaits in late spring.

Guess I should have specified the location a little better. Good thing someone has my back.

The whites were up in Canes bottom last week, This is a staging point for them before heading up into the river. They should still be there. You will fist find the smaller males, but there was some small sows mixed in. Later the bigger whites will start running as the water continues to warm. They were suspended 3 foot in 5 foot of water. If you are not a jig man you should be able to get a few on rooster tails which makes it easier on the kids. The smaller ones are more apt to chase a rooster tail. 1/16ounce jigs are the norm. Whether their suspended or not depends on the sun. Cloudy/shallow, sun out/deeper. There are also a few in the Kings River arm, however, for the most part they are really small. This time of year the fish are mostly going to be smaller. They are better eating than the bigger ones though if you plan on eating them. If you get into the bigger ones, just make sure you remove the red meat when you fillet them. They are delicious when you bake them with italian dressing.

summer walleyes on table rock have a habit of suspending over the river channels just like white bass would, trolling crankbaits through trees on channel swings is effective. In June you can still for the most part get them trolling the bottom on breaklines, after june they suspend. jason

I figured the hybrids should be up at the springs, There should be white bass there to then. I know its early, but I am ready to get after the LOZ crappie. Thanks for the report, Jason

Does anyone have a report on the walleye and crappie fishing on the Niangua arm. What is the water tempature up there right now? I am dieing to go walleye fishing up there. Also has anyone been fishing around HaHa Tonka? Thanks, Jason

The walleye are up the Kings now, fish with chubs and nightcrawlers. Use crawlers on a jig head along the banks when the sun is hitting tem and the water warms up. Just use a split shot and hook for the chubs. Walleyes are there trust me. You just have to find them. FIshin should be good until the conservation department gets the idea that they need to go shock a bunch of them. That usually kills fishing.

how do you get to the MariOsa and can I get my ranger multi species in on the ramp there. I love to walleye fish, so how good is it there.

Thanks guys the site you had given helps alot jason